


Blossoming Jealousy

by eleonorastay



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Best Friends, Bromance, Brotp, F/M, Friendship, Jealousy, Some minor mentions of trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 08:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20239708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleonorastay/pseuds/eleonorastay
Summary: Set after 1x06, "The Return of Strongbow". Rapunzel is overjoyed that her boyfriend's childhood best friend has returned, but as Lance and Eugene make up for lost time, she begins to feel a little left out...shenanigans ensue.(Rated T for vague mentions of past trauma)





	1. Chapter 1

“This is so great Pascal!” 

A stripe of red soared across the surface of the princess’ bedroom wall. The artist followed it with a dab of brown, her tongue poking out in concentration. From below, her trusty chameleon gazed up at the portrait lovingly. 

“Ta-da!” A perfect rendering of two thieves, one tall and muscular, one slender and agile. The two stood back to back, arms crossed and with matching broad smiles. One thief’s nose was an exact replica of the real thing, the other as close as anyone would ever get to an accurate depiction, but still the tiniest bit too small. Golden chains and silver coins lay scattered amongst mud-stained boots--it had been tricky, but she had managed to get the shadowing exactly how she wanted! Now to add some fine details to the background--maybe guards in hot pursuit, or runaway horses, or a pirate ship! 

“This is the first time I’ve painted Eugene’s friend Lance! I think it looks pretty good, huh?” 

Turning a lovely shade of purple, Pascal chirped three times.

“Aw, thanks, Pascal! I’m happy Lance decided to stay in Corona too. I’m sure he and Eugene have been doing a great job training the guards all week, and they must have had such a fun time at the Snuggly Duckling drink-off yesterday. I think they won; Cass says they’ve been ‘recovering’ in their room all day. Ooh, did I tell you we got them bunk beds?! I always wondered if Eugene was lonely being in his room all by himself. But now he’ll never have to worry about that.” Absentmindedly, she traced a yellow heart right next to the image of her favorite former criminal. “Hey, I know! This whole wall should be the Best Friends gallery! I’ll put you and me over there, and a picture of me and Cass can go in the corner, and Pete and Stan will fit right--” 

Thump, thump. A knock on her door! How exciting! It could be anyone--her mother, Nigel, maybe Mr. Montgomery coming to apologize after realizing that she was likable after all. Handing her damp paintbrush to Pascal so he could doodle on the baseboards, she bounded over to the door and cracked it open.

“Hey, sweetheart.” 

“Eugene!” Royal etiquette insisted that she only hug blood relatives and civilian children, but royal etiquette didn’t understand how good hugging Eugene felt. It was like no matter how hard he squeezed or how far she burrowed into his chest, somehow she felt safe, yet also free at the same time. “I missed you so much!”

Lucky for her, the former rogue didn’t care much for etiquette either. Drawing her close, he dropped kiss after kiss on each cheek, making her giggle. Gosh, she was just so adorable. In the past, he’d been more of a ‘one deep long kiss to make the lady blush and then off we go’ kinda guy, but those days were over. And honestly, he couldn’t be happier. 

Neither could the princess. Her etiquette teacher would have been appalled, but Rapunzel ignored that as her giggles grew louder. Thank goodness the hall guard had already made his way around the corner. As silly as it sounded, she cherished moments like these the most when it was just the two of them. Like a secret, only better, because these moments couldn’t hurt anyone (like most secrets tended to do). Even better, Pascal LOVED when she told him secrets, so it was important that she acquired a few every day. She couldn’t wait to tell him all about this! Maybe she should draw it in her journal too; to look back on whenever she was sad. She couldn’t imagine thinking about this moment and not feeling totally and completely overjoyed. 

“I missed you too, Blondie. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” Eugene gave her another peck on the tip of her nose. 

“Not forEVer, silly! We’ve just had a lot going on.” This time when she pulled him back in for another hug, she inhaled deeply. No matter how often he switched up his moisturizer and aftershave combination, he always smelled like the rain, leather, and library books. She wished she could capture that scent in a painting, so everyone who saw it would be able to understand. Maybe then royal etiquette would bend the rules. 

Oh, the painting! “Eugene! I’m working on something really special. Come see!” 

She’d already dragged him halfway through the doorway when she realized he was pulling back in the other direction. 

“I’m so sorry, Blondie, but I have to go. Lance and I are doing an important...thing. I wanted to make sure I saw you before I left.” There it was: that tiny, guilty smile he used whenever he thought he was disappointing her. Of course, normally he was wrong and she wasn’t disappointed at all, but right now.... 

“You’re leaving? Where are you going?” 

“Somewhere I can’t tell you.” He rubbed the back of his head, mussing up his hair slightly. The urge to smooth it out for him was strong, but she resisted.

“But…” Oh no! Was this it? Was he finally fed up with palace rules and royal etiquette? Tired of pretending like this was the life he wanted? She should have known hugs and kisses wouldn’t be enough for him to be truly happy here. Maybe he missed being a thief, untethered and free to roam the world without a care. What if he left her forever and she never saw him again???

His eyes widened--she was panicking, he knew it. Gosh, when had he lost his ability to explain things in a way that didn’t send her into an anxiety spiral? “No no no, it’s nothing bad, like stealing or something like that. It’s just that I promised Lance we’d keep it between us.” 

Her heart gave a tiny hop. “Really?” 

Cupping her face between his hands, he gave her the calmest, most honorable look he could muster. “Listen, I want to tell you, but I promised, see? And we won’t be gone long, just for the day. I’ll be back by sunset.” 

Oh, that wasn’t so long! Her heart immediately felt lighter. Reaching out to pat down his hair, she gave him her sunniest smile. “Okay. Have fun on your adventure. I’m sure Lance will be really happy you kept your promise.” 

“There she is! Man, how’d I get so lucky?” As if he couldn’t help it, her boyfriend gave her one more kiss for each cheek before bounding down the hall, as excited as a child on festival day. Beaming, she waited until he’d turned the corner to slip back inside her room.

“Meep?” Pascal gestured towards his masterpiece: a butter yellow outline of the city, in quarter-inch scale. 

“It looks beautiful, Pascal.” Holding out her hand for him to climb onto, she couldn’t help but let her face fall. “I just wish Eugene hadn’t been too busy to see it.” 

“Brrrrb.” Tilting his head to the left, the chameleon flicked his tail against the wall. 

Her smile returned. “You’re right! We can wait until it’s all finished to show him; then it’ll be an even bigger and better surprise! I just wish he would have told me where he and Lance were headed off to all day. But I understand.”

At this, her companion eyed the portrait of Lance and Eugene quizzically. 

“A promise is a promise, Pascal. I would never ask Eugene to break one, especially not for his best friend.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Ugh, how long are we going to wait around for Dumb and Dumber to get back?” Groaning, Cass flopped backwards onto the grass, her white headwrap slipping halfway off her head. With a grimace, she tugged it off the rest of the way and threw it towards Pascal, who hopped over and cheerfully burrowed into the fabric. 

“Eugene said before sunset. And look--the sky is starting to turn!” Rapunzel couldn’t hide her awe as she took in the landscape before her. Corona was a beautiful city, with its smattering of wooden cottages against tall stone buildings and a rainbow of flags and signs. But nothing was as beautiful to her as the sight of whatever was beyond all of that--past that thick stripe of city walls, where velvety hills sloped gently into lush jade forests and earthy pathways beaten down by centuries of horses and carriages. If she squinted, she could make out pinpricks of cornflower blue--rivers or lakes or maybe even oceans. Best of all, that sky! That wash of space, bigger than possibility itself. It contained more colors than any paint shop, more than even her chameleon friend had in his repertoire. Right now, the palest grey-blue blended into the colors of summertime, melting into a pastel sherbet that would soon give way to a fiery orange. 

Even locked away in her tower, she had always had the sky. 

“Listen, I get it.” Cassandra sat back up again with a huff. “You’ve had a long day. That corset try-on was rough, your tour of the dungeons didn’t go so well, we only made it through two wars in your textbook. Relaxing sounds pretty good right now. But do we really have to sit through an entire sunset when we’ve got to prepare for your history review tomorrow? And hey, speaking of tomorrow? There will be another sunset that we can watch, you know. There’s one literally every day.” 

Rapunzel didn’t look away from the sky, desperate not to miss the next shift in color. “Come on, Cass. Every sunset is so different!”

“Rapunzel.” Frustrated, her friend raked her fingers through her dark crop of hair, then blanched. Oh great. She’d forgotten she wasn’t wearing her head covering anymore, and now she had little blades of grass in her hair. If any of the guards--or worse, her father--saw this, she’d lose what little respect they had left for her. 

Anyone else would be indignant, but Rapunzel wasn’t the type to be offended by her friend’s lack of appreciation for things she liked. It was a good trait to have (although it was also one Cassandra was glad she didn’t share). “Don’t worry, Cass. Eugene should be here any minute. Then I’ll have a chaperone, and you can leave.” 

At this, Pascal stood upright, claws on his hips. Unlike Cass’ complaining, this did manage to tear the princess’ gaze from her entertainment. 

“Oh, Pascal! You know I think you’re the best chaperone ever. But Nigel said chameleons don’t count, and we don’t want to get in trouble.” 

It was clear from her companion’s expression that he was extremely unimpressed by what Nigel thought. With an eye roll so dismissive it could rival Cassandra’s, he settled back down into the headscarf.

“No, I’ll stay. I can’t go inside with my hair like this, and your buddy’s co-opted the only thing that would cover it.” Flipping onto her stomach to match Pascal’s pose, the lady-in-waiting watched as the orange deepened to the hue of pumpkin soup. “Um...are you sure your boyfriend’s going to be back before the show’s over?”

“Of course he will! Everyone loves sunsets.” Beaming, Rapunzel mentally traced the shape of the peachy clouds framing the descending sun. Maybe she should put a sunset in the Best Friends portrait of her boyfriend and Lance. Of course, she could never paint anything quite as beautiful as a real sunset, but it would be so much fun to try! “I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.” 

“What if they got attacked by ruffians? Or kidnapped by a warlock? Or trapped in a swamp? Oh, I should have made him tell me where they were going!”

Right, left, right, left. Rapunzel had gotten used to pacing when she was worried, especially when Mother had come home later than she’d said she would. Of course, the palace foyer was slightly bigger than her tower had been, but the rhythm was the same. 

Back then, it had been terrifying, because she’d had no idea what could have happened. But now, it was much worse, because she’d experienced a part of the world. She knew for every wonderful, amazing thing that was out there, there was something as equally strange and evil. And now her imagination was running wild, flipping through a picture book of nightmares she wouldn’t have even considered a few years ago. 

Cass stood a safe distance away, leaning against Maximus. In full-on Watch Mode, the horse squinted out the window, Pascal perched on top of his head. The chameleon had insisted on holding the telescope, even though it was 100% Max’s turn. 

“Calm down.” Cass tried to inject as much comfort into her tone as possible. “They probably just took a wrong turn somewhere. You know how Fitzherbonehead considers himself a master navigator when he can barely hold a map right side up.” 

Max snorted in agreement.

“I resent that, Cas_san_dra.” 

“Eugene!” Rapunzel whirled around and launched herself into his arms, breathing in that comforting scent again. If any of the guards saw this and reported it to her etiquette teacher, she didn’t care. “You said you’d come back by sunset!”

One hand came up to cradle the back of her head, the other wrapping protectively around her waist. Eugene hated seeing Rapunzel upset, but man, he loved how easily she came to him for comfort. He didn’t get many opportunities to soothe her, now that she was riding the independence wave. “I’m sorry, Sunshine, I--”

“Let me explain.” It was Lance, decked out in a new outfit that matched his childhood friend. In one hand he held a flour sack, in the other, a torn and stained map that looked like a used hanky. Tossing both to the side, the handsome man assumed his favorite storytelling position: crouched down, hands out, fingers splayed, and eyes as big as lily pads.

Cass eyed the forgotten sack suspiciously, then traded a look with Maximus. 

“Eugene and I were running right on time--”

“Oh, now I know he’s lying,” The lady-in-waiting muttered.

“And then just as we were coming up the hill--you know, the really big one?--we saw…” Lance swung his arm in a graceful arc, gazing lovingly towards the ceiling. “The most beautiful sunset I’ve ever witnessed in all my days.” 

“Oh my GOD, what is with all of you guys and sunsets?!” 

The thief shot her an indignant look. “Excuse me, it was GLORIOUS. Like watching a baby bird flap its wings for the first time.” He fluttered his arms gracefully. “Or a turtle! Finally summoning the courage to peep out of its shell.” The hands ceased fluttering and shielded the top half of his face from view, his index finger lifting for a moment to reveal one eye.  


“Lance and I used to watch the sunset from the orphanage roof all the time as kids.” Eugene rubbed a comforting circle on Rapunzel’s back. She hadn’t let go of him yet, which should have brought him joy, but really just made him feel gross for upsetting her so greatly. “I didn’t realize how much I’d missed us doing that together until today.”

At this, Lance struck another pose, this time with one arm thrown towards the heavens and the other bent behind his back. “Ah yes! Imagine, if you will: two small, underfed, but still devilishly handsome and unusually brilliant young boys, enjoying their one single blessing in life besides the friendship of each other: a sunset, nature’s most beautiful masterpiece! Nothing, and I tell you, nothing gives a person more hope for what they can accomplish like that.” 

A gagging noise came from by the window.

“Cass! He’s right.” Feet finding the floor again, Rapunzel loosened her grip around Eugene’s neck. It was wonderful that Lance appreciated sunsets so much. She’d always assumed Eugene agreed to watch them with her because it made her happy. It was nice to know that it was something connected to his childhood too. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out. I just got so worried about you.”

“No need, Princess.” Lance scooped up the sack and map once more, startling Maximus, who had been trying to subtly investigate its contents with his nose. “Eugene here is my best friend. Nothing bad will ever happen to him on my watch. You have my word.” 

At this, Eugene smiled brightly. “Hey, back at ya, buddy.” 

“Well, now that the world’s most boring mystery is solved, I’m going to bed.” As she passed by, Cass grabbed Maximus by the reins and whispered something in his ear. The horse followed her with a nod, allowing Pascal to leap down his back onto the princess’ shoulder. 

“You’d better head to bed too, Blondie.” Bright smile dimming slightly, Eugene tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I hear you’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“I guess.” Every day was a busy day now. And she’d been so caught up in her worries, she hadn’t finished preparing for her Corona history review. Still, as she let go of his hand, she couldn’t help but whisper, “I’m glad you’re safe.” 

“Night, Princess!” Giving her a cheerful wave with his map-holding hand, Lance bumped Eugene with his shoulder. “Race you back to the room? Whoever wins gets top bunk!”  


“Well, I don’t know if--you’re on, slowpoke!” 

The two men took off down the opposite end of the hall, laughter and good-natured jeering echoing behind them. 

Huh. Usually the confirmation that Eugene was safe and even better, enjoying himself would be all it took to turn her worry into happiness. But strangely, she still felt the tendrils of concern twisting their way around her heart. Maybe her body hadn’t caught up to her brain yet? 

A familiar weight pressed into her cheek, and she patted Pascal’s head and forced a smile. 

“I’m alright, Pascal. Everything will be better in the morning.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Lance, my man! How did you know I wanted extra eggs AND raspberry jam on my toast? Best breakfast buddy eh-verrr!” 

“That is wild, Lance knows all about about General Fancypants and the War of Whenever It Was!!! What are the odds? I’ll ask him to help you out on your next review.”

“Listen to his hilarious joke Lance told me! It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!” 

“So I was thinking the next time we watch the sunset together, Lance could come with! How great would that be? Just the three of us--four, if you count the frog--taking it all in?”

Lance, Lance, Lance, Lance, Lance, Lance--

UGH. 

Collapsing into her favorite overstuffed armchair, Rapunzel breathed in the comforting scent of the royal library. This was immediately followed by a series of coughs--Friedborg was known to slack on dusting the top shelves. 

She was supposed to be studying, punishment for getting so many wrong answers on her history review that morning. Normally, she’d be beyond excited to do nothing but spend several unbothered hours in the library. “Punishment”, yeah right! How could pouring over books and scribbling notes and learning all about daring feats of heroism ever be a punishment? For some reason though, she just didn’t feel like it today. She could tell it had something to do with Lance, but that just made everything more confusing. 

As usual, Pascal could tell something was bothering her. Patting her ear, he took three thread-sized strands of her hair and began braiding. 

“Thanks, Pascal. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Lance is wonderful--he’s so smart, and helpful, and he loves sunsets, and Eugene is so happy to have a friend around. It’s just...I don’t know.”

“Brrrb?” 

Sighing, she picked at a loose thread on the arm of her chair. “Everything has been so stressful lately. All of us have been so busy. Maybe it’s not really Lance that’s bothering me, it’s that I miss Eugene!” Yes, that made more sense! 

Cheering, Pascal held up the tiny finished braid triumphantly. 

She tapped her finger against her chin. “Pascal, I have a very important job for you. I’m going to write a note to Eugene, and I need you to deliver it. Do you think you could do that?”

Pascal nodded, opening his mouth wide. 

Luckily she’d brought her notebook to take notes. The tear on the page wasn’t the most even, but she was too excited to rip it out carefully enough to get a smooth edge. 

Dear Eugene,

I miss you so much, but I know you’ve been  
working hard on your new dreams.  
Have fun training guards today. I am so proud  
of you!

Love,  
Rapunzel 

Perfect! Folding it in quarters, she placed it in Pascal’s mouth and patted his head. Giving her his best salute, he hopped away. She was so lucky to have a friend like him! 

Finding Eugene was easy if you knew where to look. Maximus had been grumbling about the guards’ lack of success lately; they hadn’t yet progressed past the obstacle course. Of course, that yard was on the opposite side of the castle from the library. But when Pascal was on a mission for Rapunzel, even the furthest distance couldn’t keep him from reaching his destination. When the chameleon finally made it to the clearing, it was obvious the training session was over: sweaty and muddy soldiers sat sharpening weapons, glaring at their two instructors smugly relaxing in the grass. 

Pascal deposited the note from Rapunzel on a patch of clover by Eugene’s left ear, flopping down next to it. Exhaustion had paled his color to a yellow-green, and he panted loudly. 

“What’s this, Frog? An eviction notice?” Unfolding the paper, Eugene studied the scribble intently. “This is Rapunzel’s handwriting.” 

“Aw, is that a luuuurve letter?” Lance teased, pouring some water from his hip flask into the cap and placing it in front of the chameleon. Grateful, Pascal slurped up its contents. 

“Shaddup, Strongbow.” The blush on the former thief’s cheeks betrayed him. Gosh, could she be any cuter? He should write her a note back...but not with his buddy right there. 

“Looks like somebody’s twitterpated. You know what they say: kissy lips are loose lips. You sure I can trust you not to spill the beans about where we went yesterday?” Now Lance was eying him with suspicion instead of mirth. 

“Of course you can.” Sure, keeping secrets from anyone felt like walking on eggshells, and keeping secrets from Rapunzel kinda sorta felt like dying, but Lance was worth the struggle. “I understand why you don’t want it to get out. The orphanage was a terrible place to grow up. The first time you go back after you leave? That’s tough, for anyone. When I went back for the first time, I freaked out for like a week afterwards.”

Lance chuckled, but Eugene could tell from the way he fiddled with a piece of clover that he was relieved. “Exactly. Last night was little rough, but now? I could walk right in that place, no problem. Heck, I could give tours. Unlike you, I keep my freak-outs to a minimum.” 

“Hey! I didn’t do it alone, and neither do you. You have me, and when I went through it...I had Rapunzel.” Rapunzel, who has held his hand the whole time on the way back, even though she usually liked her hands free when they went outside so she could point at all the exciting things she noticed. Rapunzel, who had let him complain when he felt like talking, and sulk in his room when he didn’t. Rapunzel, who had made (mostly) believable excuses for why he had to miss boring royal engagements. “I keep telling you man, she’s the one.”

“You should do something special for her then,” Lance suggested, refilling Pascal’s drink for him. “You know, something she would be happy about, like NOT proposing.” 

“Hush up, Arnwaldo.” His friend wasn’t completely wrong--especially since Rapunzel’s crushing amount of princess lessons had made it impossible for them to do anything remotely date-like lately. Being able to make up for lost time with Lance had soothed the sting somewhat, but as with everything in his life, it had also created a new problem. 

He hadn’t realized how much Lance needed a place to belong until he’d seen the empty, childlike look on his best friend’s face the second they pulled up to the run-down, cobwebbed building they’d grown up in. Part of the reason Eugene had been such a successful thief was that he’d spent so long looking for a home, he’d forgotten that was even the goal. Now that he had a home here, he could see the same lost feeling in Lance, no matter how much he tried to hide it behind jolly bravado. 

Getting closer to Rapunzel had been the catalyst to finding his home in Corona. Why couldn’t it be the same for his best buddy? He’d missed having Lance in his life, and he needed him to be a part of the one he had now. Not to mention a part of the new dream he’d embark on once he and Blondie got married. For the longest time, they’d been the closest thing to family each other had. Eugene may have changed over the years, but he’d bet his life that sense of brotherhood hadn’t. 

Even better, if Lance and Rapunzel became best friends, maybe she could help the former thief just like she’d helped him. Two supportive friends was better than one, right? Plus they could do all kinds of awesome things together! They could tell stories about Eugene and Lance’s escapades, watch sunsets from the roof of the castle, laugh about Cassandra’s pathetic attempts at jokes over dinner…

Dinner! That was it! 

“Lance buddy, do you remember that time we stole the Viscount’s reservation at that very expensive, very delicious seafood restaurant?”

The grin Lance gave him implied that he definitely did remember. “You mean when the moderately attractive Viscount and his even more gorgeous Official Taste-Tester had the best dinner of their lives?” 

“Let’s just say one of the things on Rapunzel’s endless bucket list is to try oysters.” Eugene’s eyes sparkled. “Do you remember seeing that on the menu?” 

Lance laughed. “They should call you Eu-genius!”


	4. Chapter 4

“This is going to be amazing! I’ve never tried food from the ocean before!” Rapunzel could barely keep herself from bouncing up and down. 

Maximus whinnied obligingly. Obviously fish could never compare to apples, but he supposed some variety in one’s diet was a good thing. 

“I just hope Pascal’s okay--do you think he was upset that I asked him to stay behind? I wanted this to be between Eugene and I, just the two of us. Mom said she and Dad would take really good care of him until I got back.” 

Flicking his tail side to side, Maximus neighed in response. Of course Pascal understood, he was a sensible lizard. Besides, word was the King was terrible at chess, so the chameleon was bound to be in a winning mood for the next few hours. 

“I think if I bring back some leftover dessert, he should be happy!” 

Maximus loved Rapunzel, but she was definitely a talker. Luckily they had reached their final destination: the docks. (Unfortunately the restaurateur also remembered the Viscount situation and had refused them access; so the next best thing was to recreate the dining establishment, next to the water for ambiance.) 

Eugene had assured Rapunzel in a note, delivered by Pascal, that the castle chef had recreated three of four dishes perfectly. Including oysters, something she’d always wanted to try but had never gotten the chance to! Mother Gothel had discouraged eating any foods created beyond the forest scope. She had claimed it would make her sick...but now she could eat anything she wanted! 

And there he was: Eugene Fitzherbert, looking devilishly handsome in his everyday outfit, his hair glowing in the moonlight. 

And there he was: Lance Strongbow, looking admittedly just shy of the same level of handsome in a--oh no, they were matching again? His shaved head was also glowing in the moonlight, but this didn’t make her heart flip quite like Eugene did. 

“Hey Blondie! Glad you could join us.” Like the gentleman everyone knew he wasn’t, Eugene held out a hand to help her dismount the horse. 

“Thank you…” Was it just her imagination, or had he stressed the word “us” a little strongly? “Um, Eugene--”

“Ah ah ah.” He held his hands up in a ‘stop’ motion. “I know what you’re thinking. Table’s a little crowded, huh?” 

Exhaling, she felt the tension in her shoulders dissipate. “That’s exactly what I was thinking!” Thank goodness he’d said something! He could read her so well. 

“No worries, I’ll handle it.” Chucking her under the chin, he gave her a grin that was about 30% smolder…

...then leaned over her shoulder to address Maximus. “Okay pal, there’s a big bucket of apples over there for ya. Now get lost and let the three of us have a little alone time, yeah?”  


And Max, well...Max didn’t need to hear “ big bucket of apples” twice. 

It had been twenty minutes, and she’d only managed a small taste of her oysters. Her two dinner companions had been--what was the word Eugene had used? Oh, regaling--her with tales from their childhood. Lance giving Eugene the boost he needed to reach the tree branch that would lead him to be the first orphan to successfully scale the orphanage roof. Lance breaking Eugene’s fall when he became the first orphan to successfully fall off the orphanage roof. Eugene piggy-backing Lance as best as he could while he recovered from his broken leg from the roof incident. Lance and Eugene sharing a bunk after the older boys hid a spider under Lance’s pillow. Eugene and Lance carving their names into the beam of their shared bunk, so anyone who ever slept there would know they had always been and would always be the best of friends...

Ouch! Her stomach clenched, and she shoved her plate further away. She’d barely eaten; what was happening? 

A familiar scolding ran through her head: “Remember flower, an unsteady stomach betrays a guilty heart.”

Shaking the thought away, Rapunzel inhaled deeply. She didn’t have anything to feel guilty about; and anyway, Mother--er, Gothel--had probably been lying about the whole thing. A few more breaths did nothing to relax the ache, although they did succeed in gaining the rest of the table’s attention. 

“You okay Blondie?” 

Those brown eyes were so full of concern, she felt her heart swell. “I’m feeling a little...off.”

As usual whenever she got the tiniest bit sick, Eugene flew straight past Sensible Status into Panic Mode. “Oh great, was it the oysters?! That’s the last time I take chef recommendations from a horse--”

Quieting him with a pat on the shoulder, Lance offered her a sympathetic smile. “Maybe you should go on back. We can pack up some dessert for you in one of those little carton thingys, for when you’re feeling better.” 

The concern in Eugene’s eyes morphed into delight, sending another pang straight through her gut. 

“Hey, that’s a great idea! Whaddya say, Sunshine? You can have cake for breakfast like you always wanted.”

No, she didn’t want cake! She wanted Eugene to come back with her. To leave Lance here, and come cuddle up with her until she felt better! They could carve their names into her bedpost--Pascal and her had already done so to the headboard anyway. 

But instead of saying any of that, she forced a smile and a nod. “Sounds great. Have fun without me, you two.” 

Wobbling to her feet and stumbling away when all she felt like doing was doubling over took more effort than she could afford to waste, but she wasn’t going to risk either one of them trying to help her up. Luckily Max seemed to understand without her saying a word--he kept his gait to a brisk but gentle trot all the way back to the castle. Even luckier, instead of dropping her off at the front steps and heading to the stables, he strolled right in and carried her all the way up the stairs to her room.

Unfortunately, the walking break did nothing to quell the twisting sensation in her stomach. It almost seemed like the further she got from Eugene and Lance, the worse she felt.

“Rapunzel? You in here?” A familiar dark head of hair popped through the door. 

Cass never knocked. Rapunzel was usually never bothered by that fact, but right now she felt horrible and just wanted to be left alone. 

“My stomach hurts a little bit, that’s all. It’ll probably be just fine after I get a good night’s--”

In a flash, Rapunzel’s forehead was covered with a cool palm, her friend’s other hand clenching into a familiar fist. “Was it the oysters? D*mn it, Fitzloser, I told him he should’ve gone Italian like any normal person would!”

Another thing Cass rarely did was take a hint. Whether that was because she didn’t recognize that there had been one, or because she chose to ignore it because she thought it was stupid, now that was a mystery. 

“It wasn’t the oysters, Cass! It was...never mind.” Snuggling deeper into the blankets and jerking her head away, Rapunzel tried not to keep her voice light. From the raised eyebrow Cass was sending her way, she was doing a terrible job of pretending. 

“You know, if you tell me, I can probably help you.” The offending eyebrow lowered, and the corners of Cass’ mouth took on an upward slant. Her expression was a familiar one that Rapunzel had witnessed all too often over the past year, communicating one thing and one thing only: Trust me. 

Trust me. 

TRUST ME. 

Ugh, she couldn’t resist. She had to tell someone. 

“Okay. I was at dinner with Eugene and Lance, and--”

Outstretched hands and a “Whoa whoa whoa!” immediately cut her off. “Why did you say his name like that?”

Now it was Rapunzel’s turn to quirk an eyebrow. “Cass, no one calls him Flynn Rider anymore.”

Sighing exasperatedly, the dark-haired girl held back a face-palm. “No, not him, the other one. Big, beautiful, completely untrustworthy?”

“Lance?” 

“A-ha!”

If she wasn’t so confused and her stomach wasn’t killing her, Rapunzel would be overjoyed at how triumphant her friend looked in this moment. “I don’t understand?” 

“Rapunzel.” Cass’ voice took on a sugary tone that was honestly kind of terrifying--like the way the etiquette teacher sounded when asking her to pretty please, with a cherry on top, just attempt to wear shoes next time she came to curtsy lessons. “Do you like Lance?”

“Of course I do!” She resisted the urge to add, “I like everyone”, because by now she knew only goody-goodys like everyone and she was NOT a goody-goody, she just happened to share several traits with one. “Lance is...SO...um, strong! And he gets along really well with Eugene, he just wants to spend all his time with him, and--”

“Oh wow.” Cassandra’s face looked like she’d been named Captain of the Guard and caught Eugene sucking his thumb in the same day. “You’re _jealous._”

“What?!” The knot in her stomach tightened, and she grimaced. “I am NOT jealous. Lance doesn’t have anything I want!” 

“You sure about that?” At least now Cass had the decency to hide some of her glee, although the twinkling in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. “Gee, I had no idea you were even capable of feeling anything towards people than perfect happy joy joy all the time. Welcome to the club of Normal People with Normal Feelings.” 

“I am not normal! Oops, I mean, jealous!” No no no no. She loved having Lance here. Eugene was so happy with him around, happier than when he was with her--ugh, NO, she meant happier than when Lance wasn’t there and Eugene was with her--or--or--

“Hey, hey, hey.” Jostling her carefully, Cass offered a soft smile. “Come on. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody feels jealous about something.” 

“I said I’m not jealous!” Her eyes flickered down to her arms, wrapped tightly her middle. “But if I was...what would I do to fix it?” 

Cass sighed. As much as she wanted Rapunzel to trust her with stuff like this, even she could admit that giving advice wasn’t her strong suit. At least, not advice Rapunzel was likely to follow. “Well, first of all, Fitzherbert isn’t worth all the trouble, if you ask me. Especially if he’s dumb enough to spend time with Lance instead of you.” Now it was Cass’ turn to look away. “Secondly, if people pay attention to someone else instead of you even though they don’t deserve it, there’s not much you can do to change their minds. Not everything works out fair.” 

“I know.” The princess drew up her knees, resting her chin on them. “Any other advice?”

Cass bit her lip in that way she did when she was about to say something she probably shouldn’t. “Maybe this is for the best. Before this Lance guy showed up and took your boyfriend off our hands, you were...well, let’s not say ignoring, more like...distracted from a lot of your princess duties. Lessons, civilian meetings, diplomacy, not to mention you’ve still only memorized half of your Coronan history.”

“What are you saying?” Great, now she was jealous and a bad princess? The pain in her stomach was traveling up to her throat. Crying would really be a perfect end to the worst day ever. 

Uh oh, she knew a cry face when she saw one. Wincing, Cass nonetheless continued. “I’m just saying maybe him having one-on-one time with someone who isn’t you might be what’s best. For you and for him. Besides, isn’t it a tiny bit unfair for you to be so upset when you bring Pascal with you everywhere?” 

“It’s not the same!” Rapunzel yelped, wishing her chameleon was here so he could back her up with his scariest (but still totally adorable) scowl. “Pascal and I are a package deal, Eugene knows that!”

A third thing Cass rarely did was back down from a debate, even when what she was about to say was probably a bad idea. 

“Oh, so it’s okay for your boyfriend to share you as long as he’s used to it, but it’s not okay for you to share him with anybody else?” 

When Pascal finally made his triumphant return to Rapunzel’s bedroom from the King and Queen’s chambers after winning sixteen games of chess in a row, the first thing he noticed was a pouting Cassandra, locked outside in the hall.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, after a short discussion with Pascal and a long night of staring at her ceiling and feeling awful, Rapunzel had conceded that Cassandra had been right about the whole jealousy thing. Of course, the way she had gone about it hadn’t been so great--like Eugene always said, “good message, bad delivery.” But making up that morning had been easier that she’d thought it would. It turned out Cassandra was very receptive to the words “You were right”, so at least that problem had been solved. Now she just had to figure out a way to stop feeling so left out whenever Eugene and Lance were together. 

None of the books in the library were helpful on the subject, not even the dictionary. And as much as she was willing to admit that Cassandra had been right that it wasn’t fair for her to be jealous, she didn’t think her proposed solution would make her feel any better. Pascal and Max had offered their support but had no advice to give, and Friedborg had just stared at her creepily when she’d dared to bring it up. Who else could she possibly--

Oh, of course! How silly of her. Who else would a daughter go to when she needed to talk? 

“Hm, that’s a very difficult situation.” The Queen fought to keep her voice calm and steady. This was a serious matter; she couldn’t sound too happy about it. It was just that she was absolutely ecstatic that out of everyone, Rapunzel had chosen to confide in her. She’d knocked on her bedroom door and asked for her specifically.

Oh, now Rapunzel had moved closer, so they were sitting side-by-side on the bed! It was practically a sleepover! She couldn’t wait to tell Frederic later. (She only felt a little guilty about shooing him away into his office next door.) After a rather awkward transition phase, they were finally starting to connect! She knew taking such good care of Pascal would help her daughter trust them more--and her husband, to his credit, had been a very good sport about letting the lizard demolish him at chess. 

“I don’t know what to do. It’s not fair to Eugene, but I don’t think I can make it go away on my own.” Twisting a piece of hair around her finger, Rapunzel peeked up at her nervously. 

“Sweetheart.” Carefully so as not to spook her, the Queen gently put her arm around her. “You don’t have to feel guilty about how you feel. It’s normal to want your close friends to yourself, and to have a hard time when they get close to someone else.”

“Cass said the same thing…” To her mother’s delight, Rapunzel leaned into her embrace. “But what do I do? I don’t want to keep feeling bad every time he talks about Lance.”  


The Queen tried to remember what she had done the first week Rapunzel had been home. They had been overjoyed to have their little girl with them again, but it had come with its obstacles. Not only did their daughter insist on asking Eugene specifically to explain everything new to her, there had been many a moment when she seemed to forget that life wasn’t the same as in the tower.

Like when the handmaidens had tried to brush her choppy cap of hair for her, and she’d cried because that was supposed to be a mother’s job, but her new mother hadn’t even offered--obviously because her hair wasn’t special anymore, so of course the Queen didn’t love her, because if she did why hadn’t she come to do it herself? 

Or when she’d tied her bedsheets together and rappelled from her bedroom window, giving them both a heart attack, because she’d wanted to visit her friends at the Snuggly Duckling and hadn’t realized that as long as she brought a chaperone, they would freely give their permission for her to roam the kingdom as she wished. 

Or the night they had tried to make her feel more comfortable by having her favorite: hazelnut soup. Despite the chef’s attempts to replicate the recipe, Rapunzel had cheerfully remarked, “It tastes so much different than Mother’s!” 

Ah yes, that one in particular. Mother. It had taken a lot of time for The Queen to accept the fact that to Rapunzel, she had the potential to be a lot of things: Mom, Ma, Mama. But Mother would always be someone else. Someone who had gotten to see her first steps, teach her her colors and shapes, spend birthday after birthday with her. Someone who had danced with her, wiped away her tears, given her advice. Someone who had seen her grow up. 

And while the Queen could imagine how horrible Rapunzel’s life trapped with her mother must have been, it hurt somewhat that her daughter hardly ever talked about it to anyone other than Pascal and Eugene. 

Yes, the Queen had quite a lot of experience with envy. Sometimes she still did. But there were two things that always made her feel better: talking to her husband, and spending time with Rapunzel. 

“I think the best thing to do is to tell Eugene exactly what you’ve told me. I’m sure he’ll understand, and maybe he can offer you some reassurance that will help you feel more secure. It may take some time, but eventually you won’t feel jealous anymore. And consider getting to know Lance on your own. You could become great friends too, you know.” 

“That’s exactly what I should do! Thank you so much, Mom!” Squeezing her tightly, Rapunzel dropped a kiss on her cheek before skipping away. 

The Queen sat stunned a moment before crowing, “Frederic! Guess what!” 

A muffled response came through the wall. “Is the frog back for a rematch?”


	6. Chapter 6

Rapunzel took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on the door to Eugene’s room. Her mother’s advice had made a lot of sense, but she was still nervous. What if her words didn’t come out right, or some kind of magical event that needed their immediate attention happened before she could finish? What if--

Wait, was that...harmonizing? 

“Oh, Rapunzel!” Eugene appeared from behind the door. “Sorry for the noise; Lance and I were just singing a friendly duet about how lucky we are to be back together again. What can I do for you?”

“Um...can we talk? Just you and me?” Out of habit, she held out her hand, palm up. 

“Sure, Blondie.” His hand met hers, warm and comforting, and she felt a tiny bit of hope swell in her chest. 

After making an circle, filling the space with talk about her history review and how dinner had gone in her stead, they ended up practically back where they started: right across from his room, sitting side-by-side on the window seat that overlooked the palace walls. She’d figured neutral territory was the best place for the real conversation. Of course, this also meant dealing with the guards on patrol every so often, but maybe that would help things stay calm and reasonable. 

Taking a deep breath, she began.“Eugene, I love having Lance here. He’s a great person, and it makes me so happy to see the two of you enjoying life together.” Okay, good start Rapunzel. The fingers on her free hand tangled themselves between the strands of her braid, and she forced herself to keep going. “The thing is, lately I’ve been feeling sort of...jealous. Of Lance.”

“Wait...really?” Oh man, so this was a serious type of conversation. Eugene could feel his palm starting to sweat, but he kept his hand in hers anyway. “Rapunzel, you know what Lance and I have is totally different than what you and I have.” 

Rapunzel shrugged, cheeks flushing pink. “I know it’s silly. And it’s not because I don’t like Lance, I do!”

Well, good. The thought of anyone disliking Lance--or Rapunzel disliking anyone other than Uncle Monty--was laughable. Too bad this didn’t seem like a laughing matter...

Her fingers wound around her hair like a spider spinning a web, drawing the golden strands tighter and tighter until they made little indents in her skin. “I’m just not used to us spending so much time apart. Of course it makes me happy to know that you have someone to have fun with when I can’t be there! But I guess...I guess I wish that it was us enjoying some things, instead of you and Lance. Things like sunsets, and eating together, and adventures. Princess lessons are important, but being with you is important to me too. Sometimes it feels like you think it’s more important to spend time with Lance instead of with me. It’s hard for me to share you.” 

“Share me? But Sunshine, you...” _Don’t bring up the frog, don’t bring up the frog, dontbringupthefrog--_

“What about the frog? I share you with him all the time.”

D*mn it. He guessed it was all coming out now. Should he mention Cassandra? Eh, best not involve her in their conversation, else she pop up out of nowhere. 

She sighed, untwisting her hand from her hair and then retwisting it back again. “I know, I know. I need to get better at prioritizing our time alone too. I guess I just didn’t realize how important that was until I was in the opposite position. I’m so sorry I didn’t realize before; I know it was selfish of me.” 

“Rapunzel, it’s not selfish of you to not know something I never told you.” Gently, he removed her hand from the golden tangle she’d created, making a mental note to remind her to brush it out before she fell asleep. Didn’t want that thing getting worse from a night of tossing and turning; the royal hairdresser would have a fit. “Listen, this isn’t really about the frog. Sure, that’s something we can work on, but he’s been with you for your entire life, I get it. With Lance, it’s kind of the opposite.”

“What do you mean?” Part of her was relieved to let him talk for a bit. She was having such trouble putting her feelings into words, even though having both of her hands in his now helped quell the familiar sick feeling in her stomach. “Tell me.” 

“Um…” Ah, how could he put this? Listening to Rapunzel was so easy, but talking about his feelings...well, once he’d started, that was actually easy too. It was opening up his mouth and beginning, without giving in the urge to pretend and minimize and act like it wasn’t a big deal, that still took a bit of courage. 

“Listen, Lance and I spent more than half our lives with each other. He was my best friend for a really long time, and just like you and Pascal, we went through a lot together. To be honest...Lance and you are pretty much the two most important people in my life.”

“Eugene!” she squealed, bringing their linked hands under her chin before quickly dropping them back to her lap. “Sorry, sorry. Go on!”

Gosh, he loved her. Giving her hands a squeeze, he went on: “But now that things are different, Lance and I have to re-learn how to be best friends again. I’m a different person now. And that makes me feel...uncertain. Like maybe things will have changed too much, and he’s going to run off to continue his lifelong quest to steal anything & everything, leaving me behind all--well, not alone, but--listen, you have Pascal, and Cassandra, and your parents, and all your many, many friends, and I have--well, the horse doesn’t count, especially since he’s always in the middle of pursuing a criminal or whipping Stan and Pete into shape--” 

“Eugene.” Now it was her turn to give his hands a squeeze. “I understand.” 

And she did. She hadn’t realized that not only had she made so many new friends, she’d gotten to bring a part of her past life--Pascal--along with her. When Flynn Rider had become Eugene Fitzherbert again, he was left with nothing. Of course Lance coming back into his life would be his top priority; hadn’t she done the same when she’d found her parents? 

On his end of the window seat, Eugene was starting to learn that being with Rapunzel meant ricocheting between feeling anxious and feeling relieved, which honestly felt very similar to the emotional roller coaster of stealing things and trying not to get caught. The main difference was there was a lot stronger of a safety net here. “I’m sorry if I made it seem like you weren’t as important to me anymore. Believe me, nothing will ever be as important to me as you are.”

“I know. I feel the same way about you.” Leaning forward, she pressed their foreheads together. “And that’s why I’m going to give you and Lance your space to grow back together.”

He gave her that heart-melting smile that was, in her opinion, ten times better than the smolder. “Thanks, Blondie. I promise, you and I won’t have to wait as long for our next one-on-one.” 

Both leaned in for a kiss, but muffled sobs halted them before their lips touched. 

“That was beautiful, you two!” 

“Lance?” 

The door to Eugene’s room creaked open, revealing a tear-stained but still undeniably handsome face. “I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but your guys’ voices carry. And I’m not sorry for crying, because that was the sweetest thing I ever heard!” He dissolved into weeping once more, dabbing his eyes with a crumpled up wanted poster. 

Giving Eugene a soft smile, Rapunzel tiptoed up to the larger man and patted his arm. “Lance, I am so sorry for not being more compassionate. You and Eugene’s friendship is so important to me, and I hope we can be just as good friends too someday.” 

Blowing his nose directly into the part of the paper detailing the reward amount, Lance nodded. “Of course, your Highness! Anyone Eugene loves is someone I love.”

Her heart soared--what a wonderful thing to say! “I feel the same way, Lance.” 

“Ooh, I still have some cake from last night? Want a piece?” 

“Sure! And hey, the sun hasn’t set yet. We should totally go watch it togeth--oops. I mean, cake can wait. And you and Eugene should watch the sunset together.” Catching her boyfriend’s eye, she tossed him a thumbs up. 

There was that smile again. Was it just her, or did he only ever smile at her like that? 

“Thanks, Blondie. Although...I’m pretty booked tomorrow. You think you could help my girl out with that history review, Lance-y Boy?”

Lance gasped, tossing the soggy poster over his shoulder and bowing deeply. “It would be my honor!” 

Five days later, Rapunzel had finally dragged the entire group to a showing of her mural project. Don’t worry, she had left plenty of room on the wall for future friendships! 

To her joy, Eugene and Lance had given only positive comments about her little portrait of them, specifically praising the beautiful sunset in the background. Next to the picture of The King and Pascal playing chess together (with Pascal winning of course), Rapunzel had added what would become Lance’s other favorite piece: a scene of her and her newest friend, laughing together as they danced. Four bare feet stood on tiptoe, cushioned by what looked like fresh green grass. The blonde figure’s hair flowed out behind her, curling into a variety of shapes that mimicked her graceful movements. The other dancer held one arm above his head in a delicate arc, his pearly white smile wide and free. 

Right now it was a basic sketch, but Rapunzel knew time would fill in the details. 

She couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone!  
This is my first fic. I love Lance, and I'm hoping there's a lot more development in his and Rapunzel's friendship in season 3!


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